Hilary Swank has declared "things happen in their time" after announcing her shock pregnancy at the age of 52.
The Yellowjackets actress stunned fans on Wednesday (14.10.26) when she shared a fun video featuring herself, husband Philip Schneider and their three-year-old twins, Ohm and Aya, dancing with glowsticks painted on their bodies and showing off her growing bump with a tiny glowstick-clad baby, and she responded in the comments to a fan who said the news had given her "hope" for her own future.
Hilary's Instagram follower commented: “At 39 im still single and childless. You are literally giving me hope that the life I want could still happen for me. Congratulations to you and your beautiful family.”
The Oscar-winning star replied: “Thank you! [hand-raising emoji] It can!
“I always go by the adage, things happen in their time, not ours, and that has always been the case for me. But of course trusting that, for me, has always been the hardest part. Wishing you unwavering trust and abundant beauty on your journey!(sic)"
The Million Dollar Baby actress previously revealed the benefit to having her twins later in life is that she gets to be more "present" in their lives.
She told People magazine: "It just worked out that I had babies this much later in life.
"It wasn't that I didn't want them earlier. There were a lot of things that kept that from happening, and so I can really take time to be with them.
"I feel like I get a lot of Mother's Days other than actual Mother's Day because of being able to be so present with them."
Hilary had always seen children in her future.
She explained: "I knew I wanted kids someday, but I wasn't planning what that would look like.
"I know it's so different for everyone, but for me, if I had had a kid in my 20s or my 30s, I think I'd be a much different parent than I am now."
The Boys Don't Cry actress is grateful that she has the flexibility to "step in and out" of work to care for her twins.
She said: "I feel like I have that more kind of ability to really give them my attention in a way that I wouldn't have as much at that point because it would've been pulled between the two in a very distinct way.
"In my career being so established, I have the ability to kind of step in and step out when I choose, and that is just such a blessing."
Hilary says she was able to do much of the emotional and psychological work on herself before becoming a parent.
She said: "I've done a lot of work on myself.
"One of the things that I feel is important about being your best parenting self is having done that work, so you break any cycles that you don't want to impart on your children, and I've done a lot of that work over time, so I didn't have to do a lot of catch up with that."